This is the announcement for the third annual Caesar Rodney Rider Bowl, at Caesar Rodney High School in Camden, Delaware. We're located just southwest of Dover, less than an hour south of Wilmington, and approximately two hours east of the DC metropolitan area. The tournament will be held on April 21st, 2012. We would like to hold the opening meeting at 8:45am (meaning all teams should be signed in by that time), and all rounds should start at 9:00am (9:15am at the latest). It is our goal to have all regular rounds be finished by 5:00pm (notably, last year we played the entire tournament, including a final and an exhibition match, and finished everything before 4:30pm).

The price will be set at $60.00 for the first team, and $50.00 for every subsequent team. Discounts will consist of $10.00 off for moderators, buzzers, and then another $5.00 off for every 100 miles traveled (using Google Maps).

We will be using HSAPQ set #23, their last 20/20 set of the year. This set, unfortunately, has been used a couple times this year, most notably in New Kent's tournament in January. We apologize for the possible overlap for teams in the DC area, especially Richard Montgomery and St. Anselm's. HSAPQ questions are extremely accessible and we will continue to use their product as long as we have stats that look as good as last year's: http://www.hsquizbowl.org/db/tournaments/658/stats/all_stats/. If you are used to NAQT, HSAPQ is slightly different with its mACF distribution, but we believe it is excellently-written and would like to continue to spread knowledge of HSAPQ and its great questions through the Delmarva Peninsula and beyond.

Currently, the cap on teams is going to be set at 24 teams, in order to keep the event small enough to ensure that only the best possible people will be reading questions, and that there will be a score keeper in every room. There is a potential and a desire to increase the cap to 28 or 30 teams, but that happening is pending on whether or not we have enough buzzers and staffers.

The bracketing at present will include 4 round robin brackets of 6 teams each for the prelims. Following the 5 matches in the prelims, all teams will be re-bracketed into 4 more round robin brackets based on record, the 3 consolation brackets, and the championship bracket, where all teams will play another 5 matches against similarly skilled teams, and then the top two teams of the championship bracket will play for the tournament title. In any event or field size, we will have a format where the finals and consolation rounds will be played in a round robin format. This current bracketing strategy is being reviewed by team members to ensure that we, and all teams participating, will be satisfied. A change is very possible. Regardless, every team will have competitive games against teams of similar skill, and we will insure that this happens as much as possible.

This tournament will apply as a PACE-NSC qualifier. In the two years of this tournament, more than half the teams have gone on to compete in national events in May and June. We have seen teams from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C. compete at this tournament just in the last two years. So, in other words, regardless of your team's skill, there will be some great competition at this event from around the Mid-Atlantic region.

Directions to the school and information about lunch will be provided in time.

Any questions or concerns can be e-mailed to myself, Mr. Andrew Chrzanowski, at andrew(dot)chrzanowski(at)cr(dot)k12(dot)de(dot)us and more information may be forthcoming.

Please register for this tournament by e-mailing me. A post in this thread is only indicative of your interest, not an official registration. Please report how many teams, buzzer sets, and experienced moderators you plan to bring.

Yeah, letters are actually very cost efficient, and it's really awesome that you guys went ahead and used them. At 45 cents each, a 175-letter enterprise will make back all its costs if just two new teams sign up.

RyuAqua wrote:Yeah, letters are actually very cost efficient, and it's really awesome that you guys went ahead and used them. At 45 cents each, a 175-letter enterprise will make back all its costs if just two new teams sign up.

I sure hope it's worth it. We literally sent a letter to every single high school in Delaware, every single high school on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and every single team we've ever played or seen in the last three years at legitimate quizbowl tournaments. That number ended up around 175. My hand almost fell off signing all those letters, and my mouth was dry from licking all the envelopes, but i sure hope it works.

We've done mailing campaigns for both our tournaments this year, and they've been successful in bringing in some newcomers to our Fall Novice mirror, and put me in touch with some other schools for our April tournament. We've sent out well over 200 for both tournaments, and have started purging people from that list as we get email addresses and can contact coaches electronically instead.

45 cents per is a bit of an underestimate on the expense, though. Factor in paper, envelopes, and ink/toner and your cost is probably somewhere closer to 55-60 cents per letter. That said, you still only need two to three teams in order to recoup your costs. Spend the extra buck or two and get the peel and seal envelopes. Your tongue will thank you.

Did you contact any of the Virginia schools on the Eastern Shore? I know Nandua has become active on the circuit, and I know that Chincoteague plays VHSL Scholastic Bowl. I can help you find contact information for them if you don't have it already. Tournaments at CR and Wilmington Charter are probably more accessible to them than tournaments on the other side of the Chesapeake.

The Motley Eye wrote:Did you contact any of the Virginia schools on the Eastern Shore? I know Nandua has become active on the circuit, and I know that Chincoteague plays VHSL Scholastic Bowl. I can help you find contact information for them if you don't have it already. Tournaments at CR and Wilmington Charter are probably more accessible to them than tournaments on the other side of the Chesapeake.

I didn't contact them. That would be great if you can get me any contacts for Accomack and Northampton Counties.

kbsmith wrote:Delmarva Christian High School in Georgetown, DE is interested--I'll be gauging student interest and hopefully have sign-ups by the end of the week.

AWESOME! Delmarva Christian was a force in the old Texaco/Comcast Challenge days, and we would be so thrilled to have you join the circuit again! Let me know if there's anything i can do to help you or information you would also like, whether it is practice questions or just general advice.

There's exactly a month to go, and we've got a half dozen teams signed up. Not bad, but should be more! Where you at, interested teams? Also, some team that rhymes with Blarter Tool of Schmilmington... sign up.

We have to clear everything with our coach first and business office first, and since it's a bit late in the season, a lot of people have prior commitments already, and I'd have to gauge interest first before we can do anything and see if we can get drivers too. I know for sure all of A team (me included) won't be able to make it, so I guess for the meantime you can put us down as interested, but probably won't decide on anything until after spring break.

Half our B team will also not be able to make it, meaning if we come we will probably only have about 2 teams of practically all sophomores and freshmen. I hope we can send at least one team but I can't promise anything right now.

bdubbs wrote:We have to clear everything with our coach first and business office first, and since it's a bit late in the season, a lot of people have prior commitments already, and I'd have to gauge interest first before we can do anything and see if we can get drivers too. I know for sure all of A team (me included) won't be able to make it, so I guess for the meantime you can put us down as interested, but probably won't decide on anything until after spring break.

Gah! This date was announced on August 16th!!

Just get who you can come and do your best. We'll appreciate any teams that can make it.

Our first team from Delaware officially registered! Thank you Glasgow High School, yet another school playing in their first pyramidal tournament ever. It's going to be exciting seeing so many new teams at our competition.

I think it's incredibly poor form to "declare interest" and leave a TD hanging. I really wish people would stop this and just sign up or don't sign up for tournaments, lest we have even more North Myrtle Beach types of teams out there.

Charlie Dees, North Kansas City HS '08"I won't say more because I know some of you parse everything I say." - Jeremy Gibbs

"At one TJ tournament the neg prize was the Hampshire College ultimate frisbee team (nude) calender featuring one Evan Silberman. In retrospect that could have been a disaster." - Harry White

College Park Spyders wrote:I think it's incredibly poor form to "declare interest" and leave a TD hanging. I really wish people would stop this and just sign up or don't sign up for tournaments, lest we have even more North Myrtle Beach types of teams out there.

I'm expressing interest in agreeing with this post. I'll get back to you in a few weeks about whether or not I actually agree with your point.

Nick ConderLouisville, KY

"Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free."--Eugene V. Debs

Okay, last reminder about this tournament. We're at just 12 teams now, but can probably handle a few more. If i don't have a registration e-mail by Wednesday morning, you're not coming. It's that simple. Everyone who does register will get a mass e-mail by that evening with additional information, directions, and final remarks.

We only rarely (like maybe 1 or 2 at GINVIT, which is a 20+ team tournament) get teams bringing moderators. For one, I think most coaches would prefer to follow and work with their teams. Secondly, I don't know how skilled/competent/willing some coaches or chaperones are at moderating. I don't know if this is different at other regions--maybe coaches are more eager to read.

List of villages in West Virginia wrote:We may need moderator help at this tournament by the way. I counted on at least somebody bringing a competent moderator but literally no teams are bringing any coach who has volunteered to do this.

Why is that, by the way? I volunteer at every tournament we ever attend, and i would do it without any discount if it wasn't offered. It's courtesy. I guess that's a discussion for another time.

Anyway, if you CAN bring a competent moderator, please do it.

Also, uh, i guess if you want to make the drive to our school... we might need to outsource more readers here.

Come later in the week, if you still need moderators, I wouldn't be adverse to coming down and helping out.

We're stuck at 15 teams at the moment, so we would love another one to sign up. Please do, by Wednesday. I am sending the official You Are Coming To This Tournament e-mail Wednesday night, so that's your last chance.

Cheynem wrote:We only rarely (like maybe 1 or 2 at GINVIT, which is a 20+ team tournament) get teams bringing moderators. For one, I think most coaches would prefer to follow and work with their teams. Secondly, I don't know how skilled/competent/willing some coaches or chaperones are at moderating. I don't know if this is different at other regions--maybe coaches are more eager to read.

This is definitely not the case in the Tri-state area, at least from my experience.

Robert PondKings Park '10Stony Brook '14University of Victoria '18

Anonymous wrote:naqt is much worse than plagiarism could ever hope to be

A few people did not respond to the e-mail. It is likely that the Delaware State e-mail service will be completely down on both Friday and Saturday (unfortunate timing) so please respond tonight, or please write to my personal address, andrewchrzATgmailDOTcom to confirm your attendance and give a phone number.

A couple schools, namely Haverford, i have not heard from in a month or two. Please respond or expect me to track down a phone number at your school and bug you Friday, especially Haverford as you signed up for the Blue Hen Invitational and did not show up to that tournament in March.

Down and out in Quintana Roo wrote:A couple schools, namely Haverford, i have not heard from in a month or two. Please respond or expect me to track down a phone number at your school and bug you Friday, especially Haverford as you signed up for the Blue Hen Invitational and did not show up to that tournament in March.

Down and out in Quintana Roo wrote:A couple schools, namely Haverford, i have not heard from in a month or two. Please respond or expect me to track down a phone number at your school and bug you Friday, especially Haverford as you signed up for the Blue Hen Invitational and did not show up to that tournament in March.

After a ludicrous comedy of errors from about 8:30 to 9:15, this tournament became a full round robin of just 12 teams.

Let's call out the teams that nearly ruined this tournament!

Walter Johnson could not attend because they could not travel out of state without prior permission. They e-mailed me this at 3:40pm yesterday. This is the least bad of the things that have happened, so i'm cool with it.

Glasgow decided to show up with just one team after saying they were supposed to have two. They didn't tell me this until they came.

Charter promised to bring 3 buzzers, and guess how many they brought? I'll give you a hint: it starts with a "z" and rhymes with noted surrealist Joan Miro.

Whitman (their "B Team" or something) said they were coming, and weren't there by about 8:45 in the morning. So we called just to make sure that everything was okay, and Lexi found one of the kids' cell phone numbers on his Facebook page. We woke him up and found out that, nope, they weren't coming either. Thanks for telling us after you e-mailed me a week ago confirmed your attendance. You guys are awesome!

Haverford, who apparently have signed up for and missed something like 4 tournaments in the last 2 or 3 years, obviously did not come and has not returned my three phone calls to their coach. I will be calling their high school until i can directly speak to this person to tell him that they are not welcome at our tournaments anymore.

So, we created a 12-team round robin schedule on the fly, and miraculously got through 5 rounds by before 12:15.

Although teams not showing up is becoming less common with the shrinking size of quiz tournaments, it's still largely been my experience that it's nearly futile to try to make an accurate schedule prior to all teams being registered.

Thanks Lexi West for getting all that great food for people in the morning. Everybody ate everything!

Thank you to CR alum Tyler Coty for his great moderating skills too. And noted non-quizbowl players Zach Pearson who helped scorekeep, Alex Valeski who helped out in the war room.

A really big thank you to Charter alum and University of Delaware quizbowl teammate Joe Brosch who brought his moderating skills and tournament expertise to CR. I really can't thank you enough.

Pratyusha Gupta kept amazing and punctual stats throughout this tournament. She caught small errors and was the one who created our 12-team round robin on the fly after our debacle in the morning. Thanks so much.

And of course our captain Alexa Andaya, who moderated at and co-directed this tournament. I couldn't have done everything without you.

Thanks again, everyone. I hope to see many of you at GDS's tournament on May 19th. Please see their thread here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13003